The Leviathan's guttural snarl reverberated through the fractured expanse, sending a tremor across the blackened earth. It didn't lunge. It didn't pounce. It stilled...like the breath held before a scream. Kai's gaze sharpened. Beside him, Zyren tensed, his expression darkening with uncharacteristic focus. Then, the roar came. It wasn't just sound, it was a force beyond comprehension. An unholy resonance that carved through the air and rattled Kai's bones. Scarlet energy exploded from the Leviathan's massive form, its entire body flaring like a dying star in its final death throes.
Something's coming...Kai didn't say it aloud, but the thought grounded itself like an anchor in his mind. He shifted his stance subtly, adjusting his grip on Hex. The broadsword pulsed in his hand as if it, too, felt the impending shift. From the Leviathan's frame, spheres of pure, condensed energy shot out in every direction. They floated, silent and pulsing. For a heartbeat, the battlefield held still. Then the orbs began to change. They twisted grotesquely, reshaping with a sickening elasticity. Wings burst from some. Clawed feet slammed into the earth. Elongated jaws snapped open. Dozens of malformed replicas: smaller, sleeker, but no less deadly emerged in a disturbing parody of the original monster.
"Oh, come on. That's just cheating," Zyren said, clicking his tongue, beside him as he swung his chain in irritation. "Multiplication-type ability," Lorith muttered, voice like grinding stone. "Tch. Annoying." Kai remained still, his blade low but ready. His body calm. His breath steady. But inside, his mind was a storm. This isn't like before. This isn't a duel, or a mock fight. This is the real deal. One wrong move, and I'll be done for. One misstep, and they'll tear me apart. Yet he didn't let the panic rise to his surface. His expression remained composed, focused and controlled.
"Umbra," he whispered in his thoughts, tightening his grip on the hilt. "Handle the defense for me, I'll need some time to think a few things over." Her voice rang out instantly, clear and mischievously confident in the back of his mind. "I got you big bro, I'll focus on keeping us alive, you take as long as you need to question your life choices." He didn't respond. He didn't have much time with the clones were already charging towards them. The distorted screeches that followed pierced the air as the swarm descended on them, a storm of wings, claws, and hunger. But Kai didn't falter. He moved forward, ready to fight them head on.
The first one lunged. His reaction was instinctual. Kai twisted, sidestepping at the last second before slicing upward in a vicious arc. His blade hissed through the air, cleaving through the creature's throat. The body disintegrated instantly, red mist crackling as it faded. A snarl to his right. A blur of motion. He raised his left hand.....Chrono Pistol. A burst of blue light surged from his fingertip, slamming into the next clone's head and detonating on impact. No time to rest. Another from the side fast. Too fast. He couldn't dodge cleanly. The creature's claws grazed his shoulder, but his momentum didn't break. He twisted into the blow, pivoted, and slammed his fist forward with a Temporal Fracture, shattering the beast's chest in a brilliant burst of concussive force.
Each time a Leviathan fell, its disintegrating form left behind wisps of temporal energy. Kai swung his blade through them, drinking up the recessive energy greedily. The azure hue along the weapon's edge brightened. Still, the anxiety hummed underneath his skin. His body moved, but his mind kept slipping toward chaos. There were too many of them. Even with Zyren and Lorith wreaking havoc across the field, this wasn't sustainable. Kai drew in a breath through clenched teeth. I have to do this. Well then, let's hear it. He steadied himself, allowing Umbra to fully take control as he began to focus his attention to pierce into his soul.
The chaos blurred. Screeches dulled. Clashes of steel became distant. The battlefield around him: roaring and vibrant only moments ago.....slowed. He listened. Just as the sounds of the battle field went silent, he heard something new. A sound...not quite external. A beat looped over and over as it pulsed beneath his skin, resonating from his heart. It was faint and distant.....but there. A rhythm that emerged from his soul ad it resonated throughout his body. He forced himself to reach deeper. The further he went, the louder and clearer it became. The beat quickened. Looping. Repeating. Shifting and surging like the thrum of a drum made of blood and will.
It wasn't a sound from battlefield, it was one that only existed within him. His own rhythm, the tempo of his soul. Well well.....So this.....this is what the geezer meant. Kai tried to grasp onto the rhythm, as if it were a rope guiding him through a storm. It felt wild and untamed, yet familiar...almost like it had always been there, waiting for him to notice. If I can understand it.....maybe I can manipulate it. He clenched his jaw, trying to stabilize his breathing as he tried to latch onto the tempo. But nothing happened. How do I change it? Is it even possible to get a hold of this thing? Then-
"Took you long enough," came a voice. Smooth, gravel-edged, and unmistakably real despite the impossibility of its presence. Kai's eyes widened. His breath hitched. "Zayne?" The battlefield snapped back into focus for a moment...blood, mist, screeches.....but he was already deeper into his soul than the chaos around him. Zayne's voice echoed from that internal space, not in the world, but from somewhere at the back of his mind. "Well to be honest...I didn't expect you to pick up on your rhythm this fast," Zayne said, a note of amused surprise in his tone. "Most warriors never even hear it, let alone touch it. Congrats kid, you're ahead of schedule."
Kai steadied himself, a subtle flare of disbelief and caution sparking in his chest.
"Wait...does this mean you're back? You've recovered?" A pause. Then a quiet, dry chuckle that sounded like thunder trying to whisper. "Not fully. Not yet. I've clawed back just enough temporal energy to have this little chat before I fade again. Think of me as.....a spark. Temporary." Kai exhaled sharply, tension seeping from his shoulders.....but not all of it. He didn't dare hope for more than Zayne could give. Still, the presence of his voice, rough and steady like a blade honed by time, was grounding.
"Then tell me what to do," Kai whispered, his voice low but urgent. "I'm hearing it.....the rhythm. I just don't know how to use it." The Leviathan's clones continued their advance in the blurred distance, but within this moment, within this plane of clarity, Kai and Zayne stood alone student and master, speaking through the resonance of time itself. Zayne's tone grew serious.
"You don't use the rhythm, Kai. You become one with it. Understand the form of the rhythm, feel the way it rises and falls. When you believe that you understand it well enough, have your own inner Temporal Energy flow in sync with it. You cannot shift the rhythm directly, if you try that you will die. What you have to do is have the rhythm merge with the flow of your inner energy and then subtly shift the flow of the energy to manipulate the rhythm."
Kai's grip on Hex tightened. The azure light along its edge pulsed again, this time in perfect time with the heartbeat of his soul. The clones were almost on him. He focused his energy and imagined it flowing in perfect sync with the rhythm he had heard. The flow of energy shifted but it was unable to match the rhythm perfectly. Kai tried to shift his energy, but it always fell short, moving slower than the beat, or speeding up way too much. Kai cursed under his breath as his frustration began to knaw at him as his energy kept speeding up or slowing down abruptly, unable to sync with the rhythm. He felt the claws of the Leviathan clones inching closer and closer, as precious seconds ticked away. "Kid.....don't think too much." The calm voice of Zayne cut through his frustration.
"You have to believe in yourself, you are capable of this and your mind is aware of it as well. The frustration will only make it harder for you. Steel your resolve, if your heart wavers, give up....but if you truly wish to surpass your potential and take a step forward....then sunder all doubt. Let the energy flow, let it fall into place like the pieces of a puzzle. You bear the capability of achieving greatness...all you must do.....is believe." Zayne instructed. Kai exhaled, forcing himself to forget about what has happening around him and focus on the task at hand. "If I am going to burn, then my flames shall be brighter...than ANYONE ELSE." Something clicked within him, he felt like he could perceive his rhythm clearer than ever. He decided to take a different course, creating a hollow point within the flow of his energy, exactly like the rhythm of his soul.
The claws of a clone was mere inches away from his face.....but Kai decided to ignore it. Once he knew that the hollow point was perfect, he commanded his energy to overflow through it. The moment he did, he felt a strong sense of clarity, he felt newfound power at his fingertips. It was still far from perfect but it was enough for him to finally control the rhythm of his soul. "Excellent job kid...now go and conquer those who wish to claim your life, have the flow of your energy decide the rhythm of your soul." Zayne's voice trailed off, dissolving away as his energy faded. "Zayne.....you may be an annoying old geezer.....but thank you for your help." Kai thought to himself. His eyes snapped open, right as the jagged claw of a clone was about to strike him.